In this article

-deterministic

In this article

Causes the compiler to produce an assembly whose byte-for-byte output is identical across compilations for identical inputs.

Syntax

-deterministic

Remarks

By default, compiler output from a given set of inputs is unique, since the compiler adds a timestamp and a GUID that is generated from random numbers. You use the -deterministic option to produce a deterministic assembly, one whose binary content is identical across compilations as long as the input remains the same.

The compiler considers the following inputs for the purpose of determinism:

The sequence of command-line parameters.

The contents of the compiler's .rsp response file.

The precise version of the compiler used, and its referenced assemblies.

The current directory path.

The binary contents of all files explicitly passed to the compiler either directly or indirectly, including:

Source files

Referenced assemblies

Referenced modules

Resources

The strong name key file

@ response files

Analyzers

Rulesets

Additional files that may be used by analyzers

The current culture (for the language in which diagnostics and exception messages are produced).

The default encoding (or the current code page) if the encoding is not specified.

The existence, non-existence, and contents of files on the compiler's search paths (specified, for example, by /lib or /recurse).

The CLR platform on which the compiler is run.

The value of %LIBPATH%, which can affect analyzer dependency loading.

When sources are publicly available, deterministic compilation can be used for establishing whether a binary is compiled from a trusted source. It can also be useful in a continuous build system for determining whether build steps that are dependent on changes to a binary need to be executed.